RAD LIFE

After a sold-out season at the Adelaide Fringe and Cabaret Festival in 2014 with her show 'Back to Back', Morgan Welch is back to wow us with 'Girl Crush' in 2017. And to add fuel to our growing girl crush on her.

You’re blessing Adelaide with your presence in 2017’s Fringe season with your latest show ‘Girl Crush’. What should we be expecting?

‘Girl Crush’ is a collection of pop songs by some of my favourite female artists from the 21st century. There is narration throughout so that everything flows concisely and so it’s more of a story rather than just an average hour-long performance. I’ve rearranged all the tunes so that they’re jazzy and it sounds great! The band is incredibly talented. You can expect things like Meghan Trainor's ‘All About That Bass’ featuring a super sexy upright bass, and a vintage Ella Fitzgerald-esque rendition of Taylor Swift’s ‘Bad Blood.’ I think it’ll be fun!

How did the idea for this show start?

I noticed a lot of people talking badly about the popular music of today. 'It’s got no depth', 'It’s all computer-generated sound', 'Artists never write their own music anymore' etc, etc. I even heard comments that people who listen to popular music are musically uneducated, and I think that’s just wrong. A few months ago I went to see Postmodern Jukebox live. Absolutely incredible. They rearrange all sorts of songs into jazz style tunes and it really got me thinking. If I took a handful of pop songs and rearranged them, I wonder if people would listen to the song more.

There are some great tunes out there, but they’re completely covered in electronic beats and auto-tuned vocals. If I take all of that away, and just strip the songs right back, I think I can prove that popular music is important and meaningful. Tim Minchin has been a big inspiration for this project too.

What was the song you loved changing most?

Beyonce’s ‘Halo’ was definitely a favourite of mine. When I showed it to the band they were so excited. We spent a good hour or so just jamming to it.

Who’s your ultimate girl crush?

As cliché as it sounds, definitely Adele. She breaks all stereotypes in the pop music industry. It’s so inspiring to see a woman who can just stand on stage with a band, nothing fancy or too risqué, and completely own it. She’s so captivating.

Via Morgan Welch Vocalist's Facebook page.

What do you love most about being a part of the Adelaide Fringe?

It’s a fantastic platform for budding artists. Anything goes in the Fringe Festival, and that’s what is so great about it. It’s all about taking risks and not being afraid to put an idea out there, no matter how weird or daunting it may seem.

You’ve done shows at the Adelaide Fringe and the Adelaide Cabaret Festival before. How have those performances helped you form Girl Crush?

I feel like I’m taking a bigger creative leap with this show. I’m being a lot more adventurous and risky than I was in ‘Back to Back’. There’s definitely a lot of pressure because of how well that show did. My fan base grew a lot after the Fringe and Cabaret Festivals so I’m excited to see how things go after this one. I’m trying to restrain myself from looking at the ticket sales every five minutes!

At the start of the year you moved to Melbourne to study at The Australian Institute of Music. After performing solely interstate for 2016, performing to a home crowd must be something special. Are you looking forward to it?

I’m seriously looking forward to it. It’s comfortable and scary all at the same time. Plus I get to work with some of my favourite Adelaide musicians, which is always such a joy!

Your Instagram tips you off as a total café fiend, which is only the best thing ever. What’re your favourite gems in Adelaide?

Oh yes! I’m a total sucker for a good café. I mean I have an Instagram account solely for my foodie adventures. If that doesn’t scream obsession, I don’t know what does! I can’t go past The Market Shed on a Sunday morning that’s for sure, but I’ve also recently discovered the cutest café in Forestville called Dear Daisy. Right next to Cherry Darlings Bakehouse… How convenient!

What happens when pure comedy takes human form? What happens when a creature is created and bred to do stand up? Nobody knows because that isn’t a thing. What is a thing is Ross Noble doing a show. You can come and see. This is it.